Hong Kong's unpopular leader Leung Chun-ying, who has been vilified by critics as a puppet of Beijing, said Friday he would not run again for office after a term marked by anti-China protests and political divisions.

China's attraction as a top investment destination remains strong due to the advantages offered by its supply chain, infrastructure and market size, experts said, after a major Apple Inc supplier confirmed it is mulling investment in the United States.

The gap between limited supply and high demand for developable land in core cities has pushed up the price by 50 percent, denting developers' profit margins and driving developers and investors to seek land in suburbs and lower-tier cities.

China's president Xi Jinping has called for the Communist Party to exert greater ideological control over universities, state media reported Friday, amid a broad crackdown on academic freedom and dissent in the world's second-largest economy.

A Tibetan Buddhist monk has set himself on fire in western China in what appeared to be the latest such radical protest against Beijing's rule, a U.S. government-backed radio station and rights monitoring group said.

Three years after the official launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, there is much greater understanding of the opportunities that it could generate, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said on Wednesday.